In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the real significance of this year’s Global Gaming Expo:

The casino industry isn’t known for being introspective; the focus is usually strictly on the bottom line and the here and now. But the annual Global Gaming Expo, held late last month at the Sands Expo Center, is the gambling business’ chance to do some soul-searching. This year, that meant finally accepting that the status quo is gone.

This is probably the last literary spinoff from G2E: a piece in today’s Vegas Seven about the man behind the music in many Las Vegas casinos:

Here’s the funny thing about music in public places: If it’s working the way it should, you don’t even notice it on a conscious level. There’s just an extra spring in your step or, if you’re in a casino, pep in your poke as you hit the “bet again” button on your favorite slot machine. It’s the backbeat to your night out, or day at the spa, pushing you along without getting in your face. And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

I’ve been interested in the art and science of casino music programming for a while now, so it was great to be able to talk to Allen Klevens and learn all about how it’s done.

You really notice when it’s done wrong. I remember walking through MGM a while back when “Gold Dust Woman” by Fleetwood Mac came on. It was a bit disquieting, because that’s the kind of song that makes you think, “what am I doing with my life and what am I doing here?” rather than “let’s party!”

And I liked getting the peek behind the curtain, with Klevens revealing the three top tracks for casinos and three that won’t work. I’ve been listening to Brian Eno’s “This” a lot since then–but not in a casino.

The official theme of the Global Gaming Expo, held Oct. 3-6 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, was “innovation,”; but it could have been, more specifically, “convergence.”

As always, there were plenty of new products on display on the exhibit floor. International Game Technology alone demonstrated 400 new games for potential casino clients (and the occasional industry rival), and the other large manufacturers boasted similarly large offerings. But the real story was how the casino industry is converging, on several axes, with popular culture the latest technology, and, in the end, itself.

Here’s the latest info on the panel I’ll be moderating at this year’s Global Gaming Expo–at the Sands Expo Center for the first time–about social media and ROI. I’d love to see a lot of people there. Personally, I think this lineup of speakers will make a great start to anyone’s conference day:

Date: Wednesday 10/5//2011

Time: 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM

Room: 704

Social Media Insights, Part III: ROI

Although it officially costs nothing to tweet, the hard costs associated with staffing and content development are undeniable. This session will examine how casinos are using Facebook, Twitter and other avenues to produce a quantifiable return on investment. Experts will present statistics from casinos using social media to various degrees of success and discuss why approaches based on market size, target customers and similar factors may prove most effective.

Key Takeaways:

• Creating a quantifiable return on social media investment

• How to measure the real costs

• Finding the correct approach for your market

Moderator: David Schwartz, Director, Center for Gaming Research, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Not only does everyone have a unique perspective on social media, gaming, and ROI, each of us has spent at least some time working in Atlantic City, so it should be a rollicking session, to say the least.

A little while ago I received an invitation to participate in G2E‘s conference track. Here are the details:

9:15AM – 10:15AM (Wednesday, October 05, 2011)

Social Media Insights, Part III: ROI

Although it officially costs nothing to tweet, the hard costs associated with staffing and content development are undeniable. This session will examine how casinos are using Facebook, Twitter and other avenues to produce a quantifiable return on investment. Experts will present statistics from casinos using social media to various degrees of success and discuss why approaches based on market size, target customers and similar factors may prove most effective.

It may be Thanksgiving, but it’s still Thursday, so a new Vegas Seven has hit the streets with its usual Green Felt Journal adorning the local news section. This week, I look at the mayhem that was the Global Gaming Expo, with a focus on a smaller exhibitor:

The exhibitors are a diverse lot, as casino suppliers and potential casino suppliers go. For every heavyweight such as Global Cash Access or International Game Technology with a massive spread on the expo floor and private areas for salespeople and buyers to work out deals, there are smaller, almost mom-and-pop operations. The developer of Die Rich Craps, Ken Coleman, is one of them, demoing the game himself in his booth.The big exhibitors might be the heart of G2E, but the one- and two-person setups valiantly selling everything from chip-cleaning machines to name badges might be its soul.

This was a fun story to write. I didn’t want to just rehash the usual reportage about the slot giants or echo what was going on in the conference sessions, so I decided to look for a small booth that exemplified what the show is all about. After ten G2Es, I’ve got a good feel for that.

Just think about the hope and courage it takes to cram a booth into your luggage somewhere in Budapest and fly out to Las Vegas, with no guarantee of making a single sale. To me, that’s what the conference is all about.

It’s a busy week, but I still had time for a Vegas Seven column about G2E moving:

Over the course of a week, Las Vegas hosts conventions and trade expos for industries from baking to sheet metal. So it’s not surprising that the world’s premier casino industry trade show, the Global Gaming Expo, is held here each fall. A recently announced change of venue for the convention highlights the important role the meeting plays in the national casino landscape.

It’s a huge show, and I agree that the move will reinvigorate it. For now I’m going to enjoy G2E’s swansong at the LV Convention Center. Look for me to cover this in greater depth as we get there. I’m planning to pick out one, and perhaps two, stories to focus on, which will trade clarity on a single subject for a more comprehensive view. I figure that since the dailies will be doing the big picture stories, I can use my column to zero in on a single subject that might otherwise be neglected.

I’ve got a new column in the Las Vegas Business Press about how food and beverage offerings (well, mostly food) can help or hurt a casino:

Napoleon once said that an army marches on its stomach. The same is true for the masses of gamblers, conventioneers, and tourists who visit hotel-casinos. With a generally similar product offering, casinos can look to food as one of their most flexible — and important — branding options.

Gaming Expansion: Push and Pull Factors in 2008 and Beyond
Tuesday, November 11, 9:15 AM-10:15 AM
In recent years, gaming expansion has been inconsistent, with dramatic victories in Pennsylvania and Kansas, partial success in Florida, and rejection in Rhode Island. This panel will examine the factors that drive gaming expansion for suppliers, operators and states. In addition to handicapping the chances of continuing expansion, attendees will hear several viewpoints on the ongoing phenomenon.

Should be fun. Optimally, I’d like to have someone on the panel who’s opposed–or at least bearish–on continued expansion, but I’m not sure that someone against gambling expansion would go to a gambling industry conference. Still, I’m looking forward to it, and I encourage you to attend, if you’re going to G2E.